B. The Supreme Judicial Court
1. Introduction
2. A Brief History
3. The Justices
4. The Court's Departments
C. The Appeals Court
1. Introduction
2. A Brief History
3. The Justices
D. The Administrative Office of the Trial Court
E. The Trial Courts
F. An Overview of the Trial Process
G. An Overview of the Appellate Process
H. The Social Law Library
I. Footnotes
The Massachusetts Judicial System
Footnotes
1.
The Massachusetts system of appointed judges was adopted by the federal judiciary; however, judges in the federal courts have no mandatory retirement age. Many states elect, rather than appoint, judges to the highest state court. For more information, see http://www.ajs.org/selection/sel_stateselect.asp. For a history of judicial selection in the United States, see www.ajs.org/js/berkson_2005.pdf
2.
John Adams never presided over the Court, as he soon thereafter departed Massachusetts for Philadelphia, where he sat on the Continental Congress. Adams resigned his position on the Court in 1777.
3.
See generally, Russell K. Osgood, "The Supreme Judicial Court 1692-1992: An Overview" in The History of the Law in Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court 1692-1992 (Russell K. Osgood, ed., 1992).
4.
See generally Daniel Johnedis, "Creation of the Appeals Court and Its Impact on the Supreme Judicial Court," in The History of the Law in Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court 1692-1992 (Russell K. Osgood, ed., 1992).
5.
This section provides a brief, general overview only. The American Bar Association has a helpful public education website that discusses the trial system: http://www.abanet.org/publiced/courts/cases.html.
6.
Criminal defendants and civil litigants may choose to proceed to trial without a jury. In such an instance, the trial judge renders the decision. A litigant is not always entitled to a jury. There are no juries in the Probate and Family Court, the Land Court, and the Juvenile Court.
7.
In the United States, indigent criminal defendants are always provided with counsel free of charge, but defendants occasionally choose to represent themselves.
8.
The United States Constitution contains a similar double jeopardy clause.
9.
See generally, William Nelson, Americanization of the Common Law: The Impact of Legal Change on Massachusetts Society, 1760-1830 (1975).